On November 19, 2024, the “AKIS in Action: Strengthening AKIS through Women-Led Innovation” event brought together key stakeholders from the FLIARA and ModernAKIS projects, underscoring the transformative role of women in driving sustainable innovation in agriculture and rural development and exploring how Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS) can empower women to lead the way in systemic change across rural areas.
FLIARA is dedicated to promoting the role of women as leaders in sustainable farming and rural economies. By conducting in-depth case studies, FLIARA builds a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and successes of women in rural areas, ultimately providing tools and policy recommendations that can also support their inclusion in AKIS networks. The project seeks to challenge gender norms and showcase the critical economic contributions of women to rural communities.
The ModernAKIS project, which operates across all 27 EU Member States, focuses on improving the capacity of AKIS actors to drive transformation toward sustainable resource management in farming and forestry. The event highlighted the synergies between these two projects and the shared goal of empowering women as change-makers within the agricultural sector.
FLIARA’s Contribution to the Event
The project took part in the event with Associate Professor Maura Farrell, FLIARA Project Coordinator from the University of Galway, and Víctor R. Martínez from Consulta Europa, partner of the project in Spain, who shared insights from FLIARA’s research and case studies from Ireland and Spain. Their presentation, titled “FLIARA Cases from Ireland and Spain: How AKIS Fosters Female Entrepreneurship in Agriculture and Rural Areas,” highlighted how women in rural areas are leveraging AKIS to launch innovative, sustainable farming practices and rural businesses.
Maura Farrell discussed FLIARA’s unique methodology, which combines direct engagement with women entrepreneurs and in-depth research to identify best practices for integrating women into rural innovation ecosystems and highlighted cases from Ireland. She emphasised, “Through FLIARA’s case studies, we see women not only as contributors to rural economies but as powerful leaders driving long-term systemic change.”
Víctor Martínez expanded on this, showcasing examples from Spain where women have overcome significant barriers to implement environmentally sustainable farming practices, often through cooperative ventures and social enterprises. These women have proven that innovation and leadership in agriculture are not bound by gender but rather by the will to create lasting change in rural communities.
Empowering Women for the Future of Agriculture
The event also featured Michaela Glatzl from the Austrian Chamber of Agriculture, who presented the ZAMm unterwegs project. This initiative provides education and training for women decision-makers, enabling them to take on leadership roles in the agricultural sector and drive systemic change.
As the event concluded, Elena-Teodora Miron, also from the Austrian Chamber of Agriculture, reinforced the importance of collaboration between stakeholders and AKIS actors to create an inclusive ecosystem that fosters innovation and sustainability.
The AKIS in Action event underscored the importance of supporting women in rural innovation and highlighted the significant role they play in transforming the agricultural landscape across Europe. Both FLIARA and ModernAKIS continue to work towards building more inclusive, sustainable agricultural systems that empower women as key drivers of change.
For more information on the ModernAKIS project and the event, visit its official website: